Pumpkin is also known as pumpkin.
The pumpkin is the gourd (a plant that belongs to the cucurbitaceae family) and its fruit (which is edible and can have different dimensions, shapes and colors). Generally the concept refers to the fleshy berry that can be consumed in multiple ways.
Although there are many types of pumpkin according to the different genera of cucurbits, it can be said that pumpkins are large, have a hard shell and house numerous seeds or pipes .
Depending on the country and the context, one can speak of pumpkin , squash , zucchini , zucchini , calabacita , ayote , auyama or pipián . The fruits of the genera Lagenaria, Cucurbita, Amphitecna, Sicana and Benincasa are usually called pumpkin in many countries. The idea of squash, coming from the Quechua word sapallu , is very common in several South American nations.
Pumpkin as food
As a food , pumpkin can be prepared in different ways. It is common to remove the peel before consumption, although it can be cooked with it. The seeds can be roasted and eaten as a snack by adding salt and spices.
Boiled pumpkin is a very healthy food. By crushing the fruit once boiled, you can prepare a puree . You can also make baked pumpkin , either as a garnish or stuffed as a main dish.
With pumpkin, flour and egg, on the other hand, it is possible to make pumpkin gnocchi . In this case you have to make a dough and then cut the gnocchi, which must be placed in boiling water. When the pumpkin gnocchi rise to the surface and begin to float, they are ready to serve.
Baked pumpkin is a very popular food.
Different ways of preparation
Perhaps one of the simplest recipes to prepare with pumpkin consists of cutting it into transverse slices, so that each of them has a circular shape, like large "coins" , and then heating them in the microwave oven for a few minutes until they soften. They soften and can be consumed accompanied by a fresh salad of lettuce, tomato and onion, for example.
This preparation is the simplest version and can be completed by simply seasoning the pumpkin slices with salt and pepper, or with our favorite seasonings, such as oregano, paprika or garlic powder. If we want to achieve a tastier result, we can always paint the slices with some sauce , as if they were small pizzas, before heating them.
For either recipe, it is advisable to place the pumpkin slices in a deep container, such as a deep plate, add at least a tablespoon of water and cover everything with special transparent paper for microwave ovens; This way, the vegetables will not lose their moisture and the resulting consistency will be much more pleasant.
stuffed pumpkin
Stuffed pumpkins are more difficult to prepare, but they are also much tastier and can be eaten without accompaniment. To prepare it, it is first necessary to boil them whole, without removing the shell or chopping them. They reach the right point when we can prick them with a fork or some other sharp utensil without any problem, although it is advisable to remove them from the water before they are too soft.
At this point, we will have to wait for them to cool to avoid burning ourselves or breaking them while we handle them. Once they have reached room temperature, we must then make a cut lengthwise, so that it is divided into two equal parts.
Next, we must hollow out each of the halves, removing as much as we can but without risking the integrity of the shell. In the next step we can use our creativity and apply our own tastes, since the idea is to mix the pumpkin with other ingredients and make a puree, which we must then place again in the shells to bake them in the oven until they are ready to serve.